Drawer assembly



Aug. 22, 1961 J. c. PREBLE 2,997,355

DRAWERASSEMBLY Filed Oct. 14, 1957 IN VEN TOR.

cl C harlesPreble BY 2,097,355 DRAWER ASSEMBLY James Charles Preble, Tacoma, Wash., assignor, by mesne assignments, to Ekco Products Company, Chicago, 111., a corporation of Delaware Filed Oct. 14, 1957, Ser. No. 690,004 5 Claims. (Cl. 312-342) This invention relates to drawer assemblies. It pertains particularly to assemblies including a plastic drawer intended for use in kitchen cabinets and like installations.

While drawers made of plastic have many advantages making them well suited for kitchen cabinet use, their application is made diflicult by the fact that they tend to break at the points of attachment to the various components of the drawer assembly. Also, it is difficult to integrate them into the assemblies conventionally employed in cabinet construction.

Accordingly the general object of the present invention is to provide a drawer assembly which includes a plastic drawer durably secured to the other components of the assembly.

It is another object of this invention to provide a drawer assembly which is rigid and strong even though the plastic drawer which is a component thereof is flexible an somewhat frangible.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a drawer assembly which is easily adaptable for use with either slides or rollers.

A further object of the present invention is the provision of a drawer assembly which is inexpensive, of simple construction, easily installed, long lived even though subjected to severe use, and of attractive appearance.

The manner in which the foregoing and other objects of this invention are accomplished will be apparent from the accompanying specification and claims considered together with the drawings, wherein like numerals of reference indicate like parts and wherein:

FIG. 1 is an exploded view in perspective of the herein described drawer assembly; and

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the presently described drawer assembly in assembled condition.

Broadly stated, the drawer assembly of my invention comprises a drawer having outwardly extending flanges on its two side edges, a pair of track members, means for aflixing the track members one to each of the drawer side flanges, a face panel, and means for securing the track members to the face panel. Means may be provided on the track members for securing them directly to the face panel. Means also may be provided for aligning and aifixing the front face of the drawer directly to the face panel. Still further, means may be provided for mounting the assembly on either rollers or slides.

Considering the foregoing in greater detail and with particular reference to the drawings:

In the drawings, the numeral indicates the drawer, which may be made of fiberglass or other suitable plastic, shaped to a suitable contour as required for attractive appearance and easy cleaning. Thus the drawer may be constructed with downwardly and inwardly sloping side walls, and with rounded corners. Its front face 12 may be formed with a recessed section having a substantially perpendicular end wall 14 and a central perforation 16.

The two longitudinal side edges of the drawer preferably are formed with integral, outwardly extending flanges 18, 20 and front wall 12 is formed with a similar flange 22.

A face panel 24 made from wood or other suitable material is dimensioned to overlie the front of the drawer.

nited States Patent It is formed with a longitudinal groove 26 on the upper part of its inner face, and with a central opening 28. When the drawer is assembled, groove 26 receives flange 22 and perforation 28 is aligned with opening 16 in the drawer.

The assembly further includes a pair of track members or slides 30 which may be of identical construction. Thus each includes a body member having a flat tracking surface 32, an integral side flange 34, and an integral lip 36. These constituent members are dimensioned and spaced so that the track member may be placed over one of side flanges 18, 20 with segment 34 overlying the inner side wall of the drawer, and with the drawer flange nesting within the lip. The lip then may be crimped against the flange, holding the track member securely in place without the necessity of drilling or mutilating the frangible flange of the drawer.

Track members 30 also are provided with means for attaching them directly to face member 24 so that the stress of opening the drawer is transmitted directly from the face panel to the track members. In the illustrated form, the attaching means comprise an upturned, integral tab 38 having a central opening by means of which it may be screwed or otherwise affixed to the face panel.

Track members 32 serve the ancillary purpose of slides for mounting the drawer. Thus the adjacent cabinet members, not illustrated, may be provided with sliding surfaces on which the track members may be mounted.

In the alternative, the track members may be provided with the upturned integral tabs 40 at their inner ends, which preferably are perforated so that the track members may be used interchangeably for installation on the left and right hand sides of the drawer. Roller assemblies 42 then may be mounted on the inside of the cabinet frame.

These assemblies may be formed with a side plate 44, a top plate 46, and with rollers 48, 50, 52. After being crimped on the side flanges of the drawer, the track members may be inserted between the rollers whereupon lower rollers 48, 50 support the weight of the drawer, cooperating with upper roller 52 in imparting a free and easy motion thereto. The upturned tab 40 on the inner end of each track member serves as a stop for limiting the outward motion of the drawer by engagement with upper roller 52.

Also included in the assembly is a knob 54 which may be secured to face panel 24 by means of a bolt 56 dimensioned to penetrate both opening 16 in the front face of the drawer and opening 28 through the face panel.

It will be apparent that the drawer assembly of my invention includes relatively few parts all of which are of simple construction and readily adapted to secure a plastic drawer without damaging it, either in installation or in use. By seating front flange 22 of the plastic drawer in groove 26 of the face panel, the two members are easily aligned and the flexible plastic drawer is stabilized. The stresses arising upon opening of the drawer are transferred directly to the metal track members 30 which are of suflicient strength to withstand this stress without damage, thereby preserving the drawer. Still further, the track members may be used either as slides by inserting them in grooved cabinet members, or as tracks for roller installation.

It is to be understood that the form of my invention herein shown and described is to be taken as a preferred example of the same and that various changes in the shape, size and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of my invention or the scope of the subjoined claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

l. A drawer assembly comprising a pair of elongated rigid slides, a transverse rigid face panel, means for securing the face panel to the forward ends of the slides to thereby form a slidable drawer-supporting frame, full length clamp means on the slides, and a drawer member comprising front, rear, bottom and side walls, said drawer on one of the slides for supporting the drawer member 5 thereon.

2. The drawer assembly of claim 1 wherein the means for securing the face panel to the slides include angular tabs on the front ends of the slides.

3. The drawer assembly of claim, 1 wherein the clamp means engage the drawer flanges by a frictional grip thereon.

4. The drawer assembly of claim 1 wherein the slides are U-shaped in cross section to receive the associated drawer flange therein, the slides being crimped over substantially the full length of the flanges to form the integral full length clamp means for frictionally securing the flanges thereto.

re V 5. The drawer assembly of claim 1 wherein the slides have downwardly projecting flanges lying along the inner wall surface of the drawer for stabilizing the slides in their clamped position on the flanges.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,572,172 Wetzel Feb. 9, 1926 1,953,613 Kiesecker Apr. 3, 1934 2,236,557 Zalkind Apr. 1, 1941 2,488,916 Johnson Nov. 22, 1949 2,696,419 Wallance Dec. 7, 1954 2,704,237 Nave Mar. 15, 1955 2,739,028 Siggia Mar. 20, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS 676,453 Great Britain July 30, 1952 

